One- or Two-Night Stay with Drinks and an Appetizer at Adrift Hotel and Spa in Long Beach, WA

Adrift Hotel and Spa

Modern Oceanfront Hotel with Local, Sustainable Ethic

Gnarled driftwood bleached by saltwater dots the shores of the Long Beach Peninsula. On the southern tip of an oceanfront boardwalk, Adrift Hotel looks as though it might have washed up onto the beach as well. As if taking a cue from the driftwood-strewn shore, the eco-friendly hotel features all-natural and reclaimed materials wherever possible. In the lobby, rough-hewn shelves and coffee tables have been fashioned from repurposed wooden crates. Energy-efficient light bulbs dangle overhead, and the industrial-chic front desk was made from hammered sheet metal.

Sustainability is more than just a design concept here: the hotel relies on green and local products and offers complimentary beach-cruiser bikes so that you can explore the area without burning gasoline.

Guest rooms evince a similar back-to-basics vibe. The basic single queen room has a less-is-more look, with unpolished wood furnishings, black-and-white landscape prints, and curtains sewn by minimalist architect Mies van der Rohe. The onsite restaurant and bar, Pickled Fish, whips up coastal cuisine with a creative flair, such as baked Dungeness-crab macaroni and bacon-fat caramelized salmon paired with handcrafted drinks and beers from Fort George Brewery.

Long Beach, Washington: Historical, Family-Friendly Pacific Coast

About 115 miles northwest of Portland, 28 miles of uninterrupted beach stretches across the Long Beach Peninsula. The winter months form the quiet season on the peninsula. Although it's chilly—average temperatures are in the 40s—crowds gather for a number of government-approved recreational clamming dates, taking to slick seaside sands to dig for fresh razor clams. Outside of clamming season, gallivanters can trawl the shoreline for gleaming oyster shells and pearl necklaces from a retired mermaid’s estate sale.

Come spring, warmer weather brings out swarms of colorful kites; it’s something of an obsession in Long Beach, as it's home to the World Kite Museum, the only museum in America dedicated to the art, history, and science of kite making.

You can celebrate another of the area's obsessions, cranberries—whose bogs line the coast from Oregon to British Columbia—at a museum and demonstration farm. They orchestrate bog tours and steeps cups of cranberry tea.